It is indeed very rare to witness a character spring out of a book and come to life in flesh and blood. That is exactly what happened at the thirtieth session of An Author’s Afternoon on 8th April 2016.

Author Bharathi S Pradhan and Shatrughan Sinha, the main protagonist of her biographical work Anything But Khamosh, were the cynosure of all eyes. The biography on Shatrughan Sinha, which is all about leading life king size in the face of adversities and vicissitudes, was penned by Bharathi S Pradhan after 37 interviews, 200 hours of recordings and seven years of toil.

The adorable Bihari babu with the gift of the gab was at his very best. Candid confessions to catty comments dipped in wit and humour were served to the audience in the signature resonating voice of Shotgun, as the nation lovingly calls him. The Guest Author, Bharathi S Pradhan, was somewhat over shadowed by the presence of a Bollywood big weight who articulated her questions with great verve and wit. It was a classic case of an author addressing her audience through her protagonist.

One of the high points of the discussion was the actor’s “regret of his life” for contesting a by-election against his friend Rajesh Khanna. He lost an election and a friend and even after many years, it still haunts him like an unreachable itch.

The session was highly interactive and the audience learned about many aspects of Shatrughan Sinha’s life and the Bihari lad’s amazing journey to stardom. Sponsored by Shree Cement and organized by Prabha Khaitan Foundation, Taj Bengal, t2 and Siyahi, this was one of the liveliest of sessions that those lucky few present would cherish for a long time.